Head Animal Keeper

PRIMARY ROLE:

Program (MWPCP) Captive Conservation Center. Maintaining a captive population of MWP in a biosecure facility, with high welfare for the animals and maintaining sustainability
through continued proliferation and management of lineages.

RATIONALE:

The Mindoro Warty Pig is a threatened endemic species to Mindoro island. There are many threats facing the MWP, including human conflict and persecution, habitat degradation, hybridisation and disease from domestic pigs, and population fragmentation. These threats are compounded by the lack of knowledge and data in the species ecology, life history, and population distribution. The wild populations of this species are under a new acute threat from the arrival of African Swine Fever (ASF) virus on the island in 2023. Given the lack of captive populations for this species, there is a potential for the species imminent extinction, and hence the need for the Mindoro Warty Pig Conservation Program.

The primary activities of the MWPCP are to 1) establish a biosecure captive conservation center for the proliferation and long-term maintenance of an insurance population for the species, and 2) increased monitoring, surveillance and data gathering on the wild populations of MWP regarding the impact of ASF, population distribution, and understanding of the species ecology and life history.

RESPONSIBILITIES:

• Maintain high welfare for all captive animals within the conservation center.
• Maintain biosecure protocols and procedures with the center, from the entry points through to the animal enclosures and contact points.
• Ensure food provisions for the captive animals are appropriate and disinfected properly.
• Manage a team of keepers and other staff to maintain the biosecurity at the site and sustainable operations of the center.
• Build capacity within keepers and staff for high welfare husbandry and biosecurity management at the captive conservation center.
• Coordinate with site owners / stakeholders for the smooth operation and sustainable use of the site for the conservation center.
• Provide monthly reports and attend online meetings to the MWPCP Project Coordinator and Primary Contacts (Talarak Foundation Inc.)
• Attend meetings with the MWPCP Technical Working Group to report on activities within the captive conservation center.

MINIMUM CANDIDATE REQUIREMENTS:

• More than 5 years experience working in the zoo sector with ungulates.
• At least 1 year working with pig species within the zoo sector.
• Experience leading a team for animal husbandry and welfare.
• Demonstrable experience maintaining high welfare environments for captive animals.
• Demonstrable experience maintaining biosecurity in captive animal care.
• Experience and competency in report writing and project organisation.
• Experience training and building capacity for captive animal care in other personnel.
• Strong desire to save the MWP from extinction through captive breeding and captive population management.
• Fluency in written and spoken English.

PREFERED CANDIDATE REQUIREMENTS:

• Degree or higher-learning diploma in animal husbandry or similar subject.
• Understanding and/or Fluency of Tagalog.
• Philippine National or Ancestry.
• Preference or bulk experience working with warty pigs and other suids.
• Knowledge of disease spread, pathology, and biosecurity.